


Consider Me

by starrdust411



Category: Dragon Ball
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Always a Different Sex, Alternate Universe - Gender Changes, Awkward Crush, Awkward Romance, Confusion, Crew as Family, Crushes, F/M, Female Son Goku, Friends to Lovers, Love Triangles, Rare Pairings, Romance, Teen Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-31
Updated: 2016-12-14
Packaged: 2018-08-12 06:42:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7924588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starrdust411/pseuds/starrdust411
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>From the moment that he had been revived Kuririn had been waiting to see her again, to see the friend who had risked life and limb to save him. His heart had been fluttering for weeks in anticipation of their reunion and now the flutter had morphed into a thrumming so intense that he felt it in his finger tips. It had been another three years, but this time it was different, because this time she was different.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

It was moments like this that Kuririn truly felt the weight of time's hand. Another three years had passed between them. Another three years spent training to his peek while all of his friends were scattered across the globe. Another three years spent waiting for the next tournament when they would all be reunited and together again. It had been another three years, but this time it was different, because this time _she_ was different.

From the moment that he had been revived Kuririn had been waiting to see her again, to see the friend who had risked life and limb to save him. His heart had been fluttering for weeks in anticipation of their reunion and now the flutter had morphed into a thrumming so intense that he felt it in his finger tips.

Goku had changed more than Kuririn could have imagined. In three short years she had gone from the straggly haired wild child that he had met on a beach six years ago into a full grown woman. Even with her heavy coat and baggy pants, Kuririn could see that her body was not only longer, but more shapely and lean and Kuririn simply could not take his eyes off of her. Even the knowledge that everyone had likely noticed the way he was staring was not enough to break his gaze.

"Wow Kuririn you've really grown," Goku said with a teasing laugh. He blushed as she placed her hand on top of his head and was grateful for the ball cap on his scalp, because Kuririn knew he wouldn't be able to take skin to skin contact right now. "But not too much!"

Kuririn would liked to have been able to glare -- because he had been hoping that for once that the height difference between them would have finally shifted in his favor -- but he couldn't manage to do more than fight back the tears brimming in his eyes at the memory of all that Goku had done for him.

"Goku!" Kuririn sobbed as he wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close as he could manage and pillowing his head against her chest (and the full impact of _that_ act would not hit him until much later) as he wept openly in her embrace. Well, not quite an embrace as Goku herself was a bit too stunned by the sudden gesture to react properly. Kuririn didn't let her shock lessen his enjoyment however, because she was... this was... nothing like he had imagined. His first instinct would have been to describe the body in his arms as soft and warm, but Goku was firm and solid and it just felt so right to hold her like this. "Goku! I heard what you did for me! You fought Piccolo Daimao for me. I'm alive because of you."

She chuckled and gave the back of his head an awkward pat, and Kuririn had to remind himself that Goku wasn't accustom to such tender displays.

"Now now, Kuririn, that's enough," Kame Sennin said with a warm chuckle as he gently pried his two students apart. "Why don't you let your old master say hello to his star pupil?" Kame Sennin was quick to move in, eying Goku's frame as he did so, but Bulma was just fast enough to smack him away.

"Nice to see you haven't changed," Bulma grumbled tersely as the others erupted into friendly laughter.

\---

She was changing right in front of him. Well, less than a foot away from him, but still it was enough to set his heart hammering. 

When they separated from Kame Sennin and the others and entered the arena to participate in the qualification rounds, Kuririn had walked to a corner of the large dojo and shrugged off his jacket and cap in order to change into his fighting gi. It wasn't until he was crouching on the floor, rummaging in his backpack for his clothes that he had noticed that Goku had done the same and was in the middle of untying her belt and slipping out of her own coat. In that moment he held his breath, staying as quiet and still as possible, afraid that any movement on his part would cause the image in front of him to dissolve. He watched Goku's bare shoulder slip out from beneath the heavy blue material of her jacket and his heartbeat quickened.

Goku's back was facing him and Kuririn couldn't see much more than the nap of her long neck and the bit of skin that was not concealed beneath the white straps she had wrapped around her upper half. Her skin was smooth and tanned and glistened even in the low light of the dojo and Kuririn wondered what it would feel like to rub his cheek against it. He felt his stomach grow warm and his cheeks color at the thought.

"Goku! Don't do that here!"

The sound of Yamucha's voice was enough to draw Kuririn out of his trance and he was ashamed to realize that he had been practically salivating over catching a glimpse of a woman's bare shoulders. No. Not some woman, but his best friend and that thought somehow made him feel even lower.

Goku turned to face him, but Yamucha moved quickly and stepped between the two before Kuririn could catch a glimpse at Goku's chest. Yamucha was only wearing a pair of orange pants, making it clear that he had also been in the middle of changing into his own gi when he had spotted Goku. He grabbed the coat that she had only moments ago dropped to the floor and wrapped it snuggly around her shoulders once more.

"Goku there are a lot of men here!" Yamucha whispered. His own cheeks burned as he felt the shame that Goku was not able to comprehend.

She blinked at him, her eyes widening in confusion as she tried to grasp what Yamucha was trying to say. "But... I need to change," she said seemingly unable to understand just what it was that she had done wrong.

Yamucha groaned as he wrapped an arm around Goku and began pushing her away. "Fine," he sighed. "Let's go find somewhere _private_ to change."

_Right in front of me,_ Kuririn thought, his fingers trembling as he trained his eyes to the floor and tried to re-gather himself. It was shameful and childish, but even as he pulled the top of his gi over his head, he found that the image of Goku's bare shoulders and smooth back was still floating around in his mind. _She was right in front of me._

"You've been staring at her a lot."

For a moment, Kuririn felt his heart go still and his face burn at Chaozu's words, but he fought it off, because this was just Chaozu and surely he could brush the whole thing off. "I don't know what you're talking about," Kuririn said with a forced laugh that he hoped sounded somewhat casual. He finished tying off his belt before adding, "I haven't been staring at anyone."

"Yes you have," Chaozu insisted. His feet were on the ground, but his movements were so fluid that Kuririn would have sworn that he was floating. "You were staring at Goku just now. And at the gate. And in the courtyard."

"Chaozu," Tenshinhan chided. He had already changed into his tournament attire and was in the middle of stretching. His back was twisted in a way that made it impossible for Kuririn to see his face, but for a moment he thought he saw that his friend’s ears had a pinkish glow to them.

"Do you like her?" Chaozu went on obliviously. Clearly three years had not been long enough to cure him of his child-like naiveté. "Are you in love with her?"

Kuririn sputtered and found that the blush burning its way across his face was impossible to hold at bay. "I... Goku..." Kuririn began and found his tongue growing heavy and limp in his mouth as he scrambled to think of just the right thing to say and the right way to say it. 

The truth of the matter was that Kuririn had always felt something for Goku, because underneath her wild looks and boyish ways Goku had always been a cute girl. Yet it was those very rough tendencies that had overshadowed her looks throughout the years, a fact that was strong enough for the usually girl-shy young Kuririn to consider her a rival first and romantic interest last. Now, she wasn't just cute, but tall and womanly and she smelled like sunshine and the wind and Kuririn felt his heart beat quicken all over again. 

"We're just friends," he said at last and Kuririn could tell that even Chaozu thought that answer was weak.

Chaozu's usually blank features seemed to shift ever so slightly into a frown, one that was partially disappointed but mostly confused, and for a moment Kuririn feared that his friend was about to ask another unintentionally difficult question. Thankfully, Tenshinhan chose to intervene once more.

"Alright Chaozu," he said, speaking in the somewhat gentle tone he only used with Chaozu. "That's enough. You still haven't finished stretching."

Chaozu didn't bother to point out the fact that there was no real need for them to warm up as their little group was likely heads and shoulders above the rest of the potential contestants and instead stepped aside and began working his muscles. Once he felt that Chaozu was fully distracted Tenshinhan stepped closer towards Kuririn, lowering his voice, and his taller frame, in order to make certain that no one would overhear. "Do you want to talk to her?" he asked him confidentially. "It might be best to do it now before the tournament starts."

Kuririn felt his entire body turn red at the suggestion. If Tenshinhan could see right through him, then clearly he was being too obvious with his attraction. "It's not like that!" Kuririn insisted as he struggled to keep his voice down. "We're friends. That's all. I love her, but... not in that way."

Tenshinhan gave him a look that said quite clearly that his three eyes had seen more than Kuririn wanted to admit. "Opportunities present themselves very rarely, Kuririn," Tenshinhan told him sagely. His third eye flickered across the room, likely over to where Yamucha and Goku had hid themselves. "You should take advantage of this one while you can. Besides, you know how Son is: she has a very one track mind. When the preliminaries start, she'll be focused on fighting and nothing else. After that..." he shrugged, "probably just food."

In the back of his mind Kuririn knew that Tenshinhan was right, but in the front of his mind he was too taken aback by the idea that _Tenshinhan_ of all people was currently giving him romantic advice to even consider taking it.

"Remember Goku: when men are around, you have to keep your clothes on." Kuririn turned around just in time to see Yamucha walking back towards them, leading a still somewhat confused, but now fully clothed, Goku along with him. Yamucha sighed, shaking his head wearily as if ashamed of his own words. "The same thing goes for women I guess. When _people_ are around keep your clothes on! Ugh! I'm pretty sure we've had this conversation before."

"But everyone else was doing it," Goku argued childishly as she tugged at the thick fabric of her belt. Like Yamucha and Kuririn, she was wearing an orange gi similar to the ones Kame Sennin had given them years ago, the turtle emblem was even embroidered onto the front, but she was also still wearing the boots she had arrived in and a dark blue shirt beneath her tournament clothes. Kuririn frowned at this, but shrugged it off, figuring that it likely had something to do with the training Goku had received with Kami-sama.

Yamucha on the other hand was still shaking his head and seemed to be resigned to keep quiet as he left a still confused Goku to stand by Kuririn as he walked over towards the bag he had left by Tenshinhan's feet. He was carrying their clothes in his arm and he carefully crouched down to the ground in order to roughly fold their things and put them away. 

"That took a while," Tenshinhan noted.

Again Yamucha shook his head. "We were having a talk," he grumbled. "Although I couldn't really tell her everything. I guess Bulma will have to pick up where I left off."

Tenshinhan's brows arched, but he said nothing to that. Instead he turned towards Kuririn and then pointedly nodded towards Goku. Kuririn blushed, not just at Tenshinhan's gesture, but the fact that Goku had moved on from playing with her belt to tugging at Kuririn's sleeve. He turned to look at her and found that she was smiling teasingly down at him. "So you copied the old man's uniform too, huh?" Goku said, giving the tip of his fabric a good tug for emphasis. "That's funny. We all had the same idea."

"Yeah, funny," Kuririn chuckled as he fiddled with his own fingers. He suddenly became very aware of the fact that they were currently in a very large room filled with hundreds of men and women and his throat began to tighten. "Um, Goku?" he started, then cleared his throat and tried again. "Um... Goku?"

"Yeah Kuririn?"

He attempted to glance up at her, but found the task nearly impossible. "I was... um... I was thinking that, you know, well, after the tournament... do you want to go somewhere with me?"

"Go somewhere?"

Kuririn nodded, but he wished that he hadn't. Instead he wished that he had evaporated or sank into the dirt or gone back in time and stopped himself from saying anything because this was the first time he had ever asked a girl out and he was certain he had already done it wrong. "I mean, you know, if you don't want to we can... just... not..."

Goku was quiet, far too quiet, and that worried him. What worried him even more was that when he decided to look up Kuririn saw that she looked... confused. _I really did do it wrong!_

"Well, I guess..." Goku was saying, but her words were cut off when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. 

Kuririn watched as she twisted around and looked at the new comer. It was a young man, tall and lean with rich tanned skin and a full head of long black hair tied back into a single braid. His eyes were dark, yet kind, and his sharp nose sat perfectly on his angular features. Goku stiffened at the sight of him and Kuririn stiffened too, because the young man was handsome and he was smiling fondly at her and everything was falling apart before his eyes.

"Goku-san," the young man greeted in a voice that was gentle and youthful and kind. "It's so good to see you again!"

"Do I know you?" Goku asked, the confusion plain on her face.

The man laughed in a way that said he was pleased by this reaction, as if he had been planning for things to turn out this way. "Goku, it's me! Upa!"

Goku stared, Kuririn stared, and it was only then that he noticed the feather in his armband, the paint on his cheeks, and the fact that he was wearing moccasins and pants made of hemp. "Upa?" Goku laughed, allowing their friend to pull her into a friendly hug. The top of Upa's head barely brushed her nose, but he was tall enough to loop his arms around her shoulders and rest his cheek against her neck. Goku did her best to return the embrace, letting her hands grip at Upa's waist in a manner that was friendly, but also seemed ready to push him off if the need should arise. "Upa wow! You've gotten so big!"

Upa laughed as he pulled away. "I am my father's son."

"What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you! And to compete." He fell into a fighting stance that was sloppy in its playfulness and delivered a gentle jab to Goku's bare arm. "My father's been training me over the years. If we meet in the ring, don't hold back on me!"

"I hope we don't get matched up in the preliminaries then," she laughed. "It would be a shame if our first match wasn't in the actual arena."

Kuririn slumped down to the floor, feeling very tired and defeated as he listened to the two friends chatting away happily above him. His heart felt as if it were sinking out of his chest and down to his toes as he did his best not to cry in front of so many people. A gentle hand fell on his shoulder and he turned his head to see Yamucha offering him a sympathetic smile. Yamucha shrugged and mouthed the words "next time" towards him and suddenly Kuririn really did think he would cry.

\---

"She doesn't wear a bra, Bulma!" Yamucha sighed and shook his head again as he spoke in a hushed, but exasperated, tone to his girlfriend. "Just bandages to bind her chest. I don't think she has any real panties either. And she was changing her clothes like that. Out in the open where anyone could get a good look!"

Bulma frowned, tapping her fingers impatiently against the table as she listened to Yamucha speak. She didn't look as outraged or aghast as he had expected. She just seemed... annoyed. "And why did you look?" she asked tightly. "Why were you watching her getting undressed?"

Yamucha would like to have said that he was shocked by Bulma's question, but that would suggest that he didn't know the woman as well as he did. If anything, he was surprised at himself for not seeing it coming. With an almost exaggerated roll of his eyes, he leaned back against the beach chair's plastic back, the rear legs sinking further into the sand in response. It had been a long day -- a very _very_ long day -- and an even longer flight from the charred remains of Papaya Island to the comforting shores of Kame House and the last thing Yamucha wanted was to get into a pointless squabble with Bulma. 

Truth be told, he didn't even really want to be having this conversation -- because having this sort of discussion about a friend when said friend was sitting just a few paces away was uncomfortable to say the least -- and would much rather be inside sleeping like Chaozu, Pu'ar, and Oolong currently were. Instead he was out here sitting under the stars waiting for Lunch to finish their incredibly late dinner (it wasn't the proper celebratory meal they usually shared after a tournament, but it would have to do for now) while Bulma sat across from him with pursed lips and narrow eyes.

"It's not like that Bulma," he explained wearily, because he genuinely felt he shouldn't have to explain himself on this matter. "Goku's not like that to me. She's like my little sister."

Bulma was still frowning, but the look had gone from suspicious to thoughtful as her shoulders slumped and the tension seeped out of her body. "Yeah, well, you still shouldn't have peeped," she insisted with a small huff as she leaned back in her own beach chair. "It makes you just as bad as the others for not looking away."

Yamucha wanted to argue that he had just glanced in Goku's direction as a sort of afterthought and had never had any desire to see his old friend's bare body, but he decided against it. He was too tired. "The point is," he stressed, "that you need to have a talk with her."

He watched as Bulma not only stiffened, but paled slightly, her lips pressing together as her eyes widened and Yamucha felt a bit proud of himself for creating that sort of reaction in her. "Me?" she squeaked. "Why me?"

"Because she's your little sister too," he said with a teasing smirk. "Besides, I tried talking to her about this sort of thing before. She didn't listen. The whole 'modesty talk' might mean more coming from another woman."

"I wouldn't count on it," she shrugged. "Son-kun's pretty dense when it comes to anything that isn't prefaced by a punch or a kick. Besides, what's with the sudden interest in her wardrobe? You never seemed to care what kind of wrapping she wore under her gi before."

"It's different now," Yamucha said as he glanced out towards the shore. Goku was sitting there with Upa, chatting peacefully and watching the waves splash against the shore. In the faint glow of the stars and the moon's bright beams (it was so nice to see Goku in the moonlight without panicking at the prospect of a potential rampage) the two looked like children. Yet they weren't children anymore. "She's different now."

Bulma's face grew thoughtful as she seemed to follow Yamucha's gaze. "Yeah, I guess you're right," she said with a nostalgic smile. "It feels like just yesterday she was just a grubby little squirt. Now she's practically a woman."

"With womanly problems," Yamucha joked. His smirk soon turned into a sly smile when Bulma turned to give him a confused stare. Again he felt quite proud at the idea that he had thought of something that she hadn't. He pointed back towards Upa who was leaning back on his elbows and laughing a bit too loudly at Goku's broad gestures. "I don't think either of them realizes it, but there's something going on between Goku and Upa."

"Those two?" Bulma practically squawked. Her cheeks colored and Yamucha wasn't sure if it was the idea of their friends together or the fact that her voice had been a touch too loud that had caused the blush. "They're just kids."

"We were kids once, too," Yamucha shrugged before nodding over towards Kuririn who was currently sulking on the opposite side of the house. Every now and again he would send a sad glance over towards Goku and Upa before turning back towards the patterns he was drawing in the sand. "And Kuririn has clearly been nursing a crush for years and he's just now realizing it."

"Yeah, I kinda saw that one," Bulma nodded. Her face grew softer and more sympathetic as she leaned forward in her chair, her elbow planting on the sandy table top as she cradled her cheek in her palm. "Poor guy. He waited all this time for nothing."

"Well, maybe not for nothing," Yamucha reasoned. "Goku doesn't even know that Upa likes her. Heck, _Upa_ probably doesn't even realize he likes _Goku_ yet! Kuririn still has a chance."

"Yeah, but that's only _if_ Kuririn can work up the nerve to say something," she pointed out. "And right now, Upa's taking up most of Son-kun's time, causing Kuririn to grow more dishearten the longer those two are together. Upa will be professing his own love before Kuririn can even work up the nerve to look Son-kun in the eyes."

Yamucha shook his head. As far as he was concerned anything was possible. "Well, that still means that you should have a talk with Goku. If guys are going to start going after her, she needs to be ready."

"Yamucha, Son-kun was just declared 'strongest under the sun' a few hours ago," Bulma pointed out. "And she defeated Piccolo Daimao. _Twice_. I think she can handle herself."

He flushed. "That's not what I meant. I mean... well... she might have thoughts and feelings that she doesn't understand yet. You should help her with that."

"I still don't understand why it has to be me!" Bulma whined.

"Well, I'm sure Kame Sennin probably tried once, but I doubt it would have gone well. So that leaves either you or Lunch."

"So let's have Lunch do it!"

"Bulma!"

\---

Goku raised her arm into the air and curled her hand into a tight fist as she flexed her muscles, a gesture that caused the tendons beneath her skin to tighten and swell to an impressive size. Even in the moon light the warm tan of her skin was apparent, but only a skilled eye could see the faint little slivers of scaring that had been healed by time or magic. Upa gazed in awe at the sight as he reached out with hesitant fingers to touch her. His finger tips were rough and calloused and scrapped against her bare flesh even if his touch was feather light. Goku could tell he was having a hard time wrapping his mind around the thought that just hours ago the same arm he was touching had been shattered by Piccolo.

"Amazing," Upa breathed as he withdrew his hand, but continued to stare. "If I hadn't seen it for myself..."

Goku chuckled and relaxed her grip a bit in order to flex her arm and rotate her shoulder in the air in order to show off how she was able to accomplish the movement smoothly and painlessly. "I know! I've been healed like this a few times, but it still amazes me."

Upa's face fell into a soft frown at her words, a look that Goku had not been anticipating. "Goku-san, you could have died today," he whispered thoughtfully. His tone was hushed and sad as if he feared Goku had not considered that possibility.

Yet Goku had considered that there was a chance that she would have been beaten. She had known long before she had set foot on Papaya Island that Piccolo Daimao's child would be there, that he would enter the Tenkaichi Budokai, and the two of them would meet in the ring. Even after three years of training in Kami-sama's heavenly realm, she hadn't been certain of her victory and the thought that this younger Piccolo might end her life had entered her mind a few times. With all that in mind, the idea of being killed had never frightened her, instead the prospect of fighting an opportune she was not sure to defeat had sent an excited thrill through her. The thought that a being so powerful could exist was wonderful and she could only hope that Piccolo was out there somewhere getting even stronger for their next fight.

"I know," Goku said simply as she leaned back on her elbows against the cool sand. "But I'm alive and I can't wait to fight like that again."

From the corner of her eye Goku could see the confused frown Upa was currently giving her as he considered her words. "Well, as strong as you are now, I doubt there would be anyone else to challenge you."

"Nah, I'm sure Piccolo'll get plenty strong by the time we fight again. Plus, the world's a real big place. There's no way I coulda fought every strong person there is just yet."

"Is that all you want out of life, Goku-san? A good fight?"

It was Goku's turn to frown then as she turned towards Upa and saw nothing but sincerity reflected back at her in his dark eyes. "What else is there?"

Upa's eyes widened in quiet shock at her question and Goku couldn't understand how he could find such a thing so surprising. Fighting was all she wanted out of life, it was what her grandfather taught her and something she had held dear. It only felt natural to seek out the one thing that made her feel happy.

"Um, well, there are many things," Upa began awkwardly. "You could find a nice home."

"I already have my Grampa's house in the mountains," Goku pointed out. "Or sometimes I stay here with Kame Sennin."

"You could explore the world. Go somewhere new?"

"I do that all the time," she laughed. "It's how I find so many new people to fight."

Upa hummed as he considered his next words carefully. "You could find love? Start a family?"

"Love? Family?" Goku frowned as she turned the words over in her mind. They were familiar to her, but she could tell by the way Upa looked when he said it that there was a hidden meaning she wasn't catching. She turned and glanced over her shoulder towards Kame House where the others had gathered. Most of her friends were resting, but she could tell by the gentle clank of plates and the soft splash of water from within that Lunch was in the kitchen putting the final touches on dinner. "I have my friends. Doesn't that count?"

"Um, well..." She watched as a gentle blush spread across Upa's face as he shifted uncomfortably in the sand. "That's one kind of love, but I meant something different." He bowed his head and rubbed at his arm awkwardly as if he were avoiding making direct contact with Goku's gaze. "Haven't you ever considered finding a man and getting married? Maybe even having children?"

Goku fell silent as she listened to the waves crash against the beach. Married. Now that was a word she did not know and it made her head feel uneven as she processed what it could mean. Find a man? She knew men. There was Tenshinhan and Yamucha and she supposed that Kuririn was a man now too. And children... Children?

She shook her head. "No," she said at last. "I never considered any of that."

"You haven't?" Upa's tone was thick with concern as he reached out a hand and pressed it to Goku's arm. He gave her a squeeze and Goku was stunned by how hurt he looked. "Goku-san, that's so very sad."

"Why? Are those important things?"

"Well, my father told me once that everyone should find love in their life time. He said that when he married my mother his whole world felt full and complete and on the day that I was born he was surprised by how much he was able to love someone he just met. So, I suppose that they are very important things."

Goku nodded slowly as she listened to Upa speak. His father Bora had seemed like a good man, he was kind and tender to Upa, but very strong and brave and even if he had been beaten by Tao Pai Pai he was certainly a good fighter. If a man like that felt that getting married and having children was important then maybe there was some truth to it after all.

She shifted around in the sand, the scent of food having wafted her way, and Goku instantly felt her stomach begin to rumble. "I think Lunch is finished making dinner," Goku announced as she got to her feet. "After we eat, I'll take you back home. I bet your dad's plenty worried about you."

A faint blush spread across Upa's cheeks as he turned and ducked his head in response to her words. "G-Goku-san... you needn't trouble yourself..."

"It ain't trouble at all," she assured him as she brushed the sand from her gi. "'Sides, how else were you planning to get home? We're miles from land and I'm not sure if Bulma would be able to give you a ride back since West City's pretty far from Karin's Tower."

Upa remained silent as he sat and smiled weakly at the ground. He shifted against the sand and even in the moonlight Goku could see his blush had deepen as he barely managed a timid "Thank you" before she turned and marched back towards the house.

\---

Kuririn felt the ball of misery tighten in the pit of his stomach as the tide continued to crash against the beach. Ever since Goku and Upa had reunited at the tournament they had been in separable. Even after she had beaten him without any effort at all in their first round match, Upa had stuck around, staying by Goku's side even after the strange competitor had revealed himself to be Piccolo Daimao, even after Papaya Island had been destroy and the stadium demolished, Upa had stayed and Kuririn cursed himself for not being bolder.

_I should have said something sooner,_ he thought miserably. _I could have told her how I felt right there at the gate._

He sighed and kicked at the sand beneath his feet, erasing the little swirls and patterns that he had drawn with the tip of his shoe. The only silver lining he could see was that at least now he knew for certain that Goku was no longer a possibility and perhaps now he could move on. 

"Kuririn you didn't get any food."

His heart jumped at the sound of Goku's voice piercing through his fog of self pity. He was stunned to see her standing above him, holding two massive plates of food in her hands before carelessly collapsing to the ground beside him. "I was just about to tuck into my fourth plate when I realized you didn't get none," she announced as she slid the plate of steamed rice, dumplings, and fried fish onto his lap. 

Goku didn't bother to wait for Kuririn's meek "Thanks" before tearing into her own plate. He was tempted to read into this -- because Goku didn't bring food to others, just devoured it at lightning speed -- but Kuririn was quick to push those thoughts aside because they were friends and Goku was just being friendly.

"After I finish this plate, I'm gonna take Upa back home," Goku announced, her words barely audible around the half chewed food stuffing her mouth. Kuririn nodded in response and hoped that his flat "oh" didn't make his disappointment too obvious. "I guess we can head out together when I get back."

Kuririn felt his breath catch in his throat at that, his heart clenching as he turned to stare at his friend. Yet Goku's posture hadn't changed. Her features were completely nonplused as she focused solely on finishing her dinner. "I, uh... whuh?"

Goku took a moment to swallow as she placed her chopsticks down in the now empty dish. "Remember? Back at the tournament you said you wanted to go somewhere after the Budokai was over?" She shifted and wiped off the bits of food and grease clinging to her face with the back of her wristband. "Do you not wanna go anymore?"

"No! I mean yes," he found himself blurting out, all thoughts of giving up on Goku instantly evaporating in the face of this blinding ray of hope that was shining down upon him. "That is, I do still want to go, but... well, we don't have to go right away. We can wait til morning if you want."

Goku shrugged indifferently. "Whatever you want to do," she told him. "What do you have in mind, anyway? You wanna go on a Dragon Ball hunt? Or find somewhere to spar?"

Kuririn felt himself sink into the sand at Goku's questions, realizing for the first time that he hadn't put any thought into this. Goku wasn't like most girls and would any enjoy something simple, yet on the other hand Goku wasn't like most girls and wouldn't be interested in anything traditional. For a moment he wondered if there was still a chance he could back out and save face, but when he looked into Goku's dark eyes twinkling in the starlight he realized that he had to give this an honest shot.

"It's a surprise?" he offered weakly, hoping that his uneven chuckle would be enough to convince her not to question him further.

"A surprise, huh?" Goku echoed. Her lips curled with excitement and Kuririn could tell for the first time that her interest was piqued. "Well I can't wait. I hope it's something fun."

"I hope so too," he muttered under his breath as his stomach tied itself into thick knots. 

From the corner of his eyes he could see Goku shifting beside him, bringing herself onto her knees in what he assumed was preparation to leave. Yet when she stopped and placed a hand on his shoulder, Kuririn found his gaze turning back towards her. 

Goku was smiling down at him in a way that he had never seen before, her eyes were soft almost tender as she gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze with her warm hands. "I know I didn't get a chance to say so before, but I'm really glad to see you again Kuririn. When I found out what happened to you... when I saw you lying there..." Her gaze grew distant, somber and tears began to fill her eyes as her lips wavered before twisting into a bitter frown. "I held you in my arms and you were already cold..."

A chill ran through his being as Kuririn gazed up at his friend to see emotions that he had never thought to see twisting her face and radiating from her very finger tips. He placed his hand on her arm, his calloused fingers brushing against her and he was stunned when he felt her actually shudder at his touch. "Goku," he whispered, and found his heart aching as a single tear rolled down her cheek. "It's alright. I'm here now."

The air in his lungs came rushing out with a sudden " _oof!_ " and it took a long moment for Kuririn to gather his baring enough to realize that he was now being held in Goku's arms. Her hold was fierce, nearly crushing, but it was also so familiar. He rested his cheek against her shoulder as best as he could, closing his eyes and enjoy the feel of her sturdy arms around him. _Goku,_ his heart sang out and Kuririn knew without a doubt that this was love, purely and truly.

Goku sniffed and pulled herself away, rubbing at her eyes and cheeks with such haste as she chuckled under her breath. "Sorry, sorry," she laughed and Kuririn already found himself longing for her touch. "I got a bit carried away."

"Goku," Kuririn began wistfully. He wanted so badly to lean forward and kiss her, but such a thing would be far too inappropriate especially when they hadn't even had their first date yet. Instead he did his best to smile and chuckle sympathetically. "Don't worry about it. It's been three years after all."

"Yeah, three years," she echoed, rubbing at her cheeks in a way that was almost thoughtful. "Well, I suppose I should bring Upa home now."

"Yeah... right." He fidgeted as he got to his feet. "I suppose I'll see you in the morning."

Goku stood and took her plate, offering him a final nod before heading back inside. 

The moment she was gone Kuririn felt himself sink deep down into the sand, practically melting into the beach as his mind whirled with all that had transpired. He had to make sure tomorrow was a wonderful day for both of them.


	2. Chapter 2

It didn't take long for them to arrive at the sacred land beneath Karin's Tower. The forest hadn't changed much since the time that Goku had last visited the site which brought a smile to Goku’s face. She couldn’t help but reflect on how funny it was knowing that she had spend the last three years training high above this land and never once saw Upa or his farther in all that time. Kinto'un stopped smoothly just a few feet above the ground and Upa hopped off the cloud with ease. 

They spotted Bora sitting near a fire he had likely built around twilight, a freshly skinned animal roasting over the opened flames and filling the air with the scent of cooked meat. Even in the dim light provided by the moon and the fire pit Goku could still tell that Bora had not changed much over the years. He was still tall and broad with his long hair and tanned skin just as she remembered him.

Bora looked up from his dinner and flashed them a startled yet warm smile as he stood to greet his son. “Upa,” he began fondly as he strode over to his son and placed a large hand down on his shoulder. “You’ve returned at last.”

“It’s so good to see you, Father,” Upa grinned as he closed the distance between them and wrapped his arms as best as he could around his father’s sturdy figure. “So much has happened today! I have much to tell you.”

They gathered around the fire pit and recounted the events of the day, Upa eagerly telling Bora every single detail of the tournament’s event all while his wide eyes were shining with awe. Bora listened with rapt attention, nodding here and there, but otherwise not making a sound as his son spoke. Goku only smiled pleasantly as she listened and gnawed on the piece of meat that Bora had offered her in thanks for bringing Upa home.

“And then, Kami-sama himself offered Goku his position,” Upa concluded eagerly and those words were enough to cause Bora’s brow to arch in quiet surprise. “But Goku declined him. And then… well, and then Father we went off with Goku’s friends to rest for a bit before returning home.”

Bora hummed, amused and perhaps a bit impressed as he took a gulp from his water skin. “Truly you had quite an eventful day,” he said thoughtfully before turning to offer Goku a grateful smile. “Again I find myself in a great debt to you, Son Goku. If it were not for you, Upa likely would have perished, to say nothing for the rest of the world.”

Goku smiled as she swallowed the last of her meal. “Upa has gotten quite strong himself,” she put in. “He fought good in the tournament. You trained him well, Bora.”

Upa blushed from the praise, shifting his gaze downward as he bowed his head likely to hide his reddened cheeks. “Goku-san you are too kind,” he chuckled. “After all, I was no match for you during our fight.”

“That you were able to work your way into the preliminaries in order to fight her is quite a feat in itself, Upa,” Bora assured him sagely. “Young Goku is a seasoned fighter and it is only fitting that you were bested by her. Yet to hold your own at all… I am proud of how far you have come in so short a time, my son.”

Upa’s face was practically glowing red by then, but Goku could see that there was a faint gleam of pride in his eyes as he warmly welcomed his father’s praise. “Thank you, Father.”

They finished their meal as the fire crackled in front of them and the stars slowly shifted in the sky above. Goku was grateful that she had eaten her fill back at Kame House, the dinner Lunch had prepared still filling her belly enough so that she was able to hold back on devouring the roasted boar that Bora had cooked whole. 

“It is quite late,” Bora observed as he gazed at the remains of the boar that had been all but picked clean between the three of them. “And I am sure that the two of you are quite tired from all that you have done today. Goku, would you honor us by spending the night?”

It was only then that Goku remembered that she had to return to Kame House in order to meet with Kuririn in the morning. She wasn’t sure what his surprise could be, but the thought of it was exciting. “Thanks, but I should be getting back to my friends,” she smiled.

“Please Goku, a warm meal and a place to rest is the very least I could offer you in order to show our thanks.”

Goku frowned as she took a moment to consider the situation. Kuririn had said that they wouldn’t have to leave until morning and she didn’t want to hurt Bora’s feelings by turning him down. She shrugged. “I guess I could stay the night, but I gotta go in the morning.”

“I’ll go set out a bed for you, Goku-san,” Upa volunteered eagerly as he quickly leapt to his feet and sprinted towards the tent he shared with his father.

Bora chuckled as he gazed after his son’s retreating form. Up close and in the warm glow of the fire Goku could now see that Bora had indeed grown older. There were lines appearing around his mouth as he smiled fondly and beneath his deep brown eyes and perhaps it was just a trick of the light, but Goku could have sworn that there was gray streaking his dark hair. “Upa is young and excitable, but he is a good man,” he smiled proudly. He shifted slightly as he turned his gaze towards Goku. “Son Goku, how old are you?”

“Me? I’m nineteen,” she answered.

He hummed thoughtfully as he drank from his water skin. “Do you have a man in your life, Goku?”

Goku frowned in confusion as she recalled Upa’s questions from earlier that evening and suddenly wondered where Bora was going with all of this. “Well, I dunno. I don’t think so,” she said at last.

“Upa is still young, but in time he will make a fine husband. It would honor me if you would consider him.”

“Consider him?” Goku echoed, suddenly feeling very lost.

Bora merely nodded, likely not picking up on her confusion. “I have been teaching him how to hunt and track, so he would be able to provide for you. In time he will pitch his own tent beside mine and take a wife. If you were to become his bride you could stay here on these lands and your children will grow strong to one day guard this scared ground. It would be a pleasant life.”

Goku felt stiff as she tried her best to wrap her mind around what Bora was saying. It didn’t sound terrible, staying beneath Karin’s Tower to train with Upa and hunt in the woods and perhaps even climb the tower to visit with Karin in his sanctuary or see Kami-sama and Mr. Popo in the heavenly realm. 

Yet the other things were harder to grasp. She had just learned about marriage, but the details seemed fuzzy. Marriage seemed to mean living with a man and that there would be children, but she wasn’t sure what else there was to it. A part of her was tempted to ask Bora to explain it to her, but a bigger part of her didn’t want to think about this marriage thing anymore. “I guess I can consider him,” she said at last, because she didn’t want to hurt Bora’s feelings and she reasoned that considering something would be fine.

*

“You mean that you actually asked her?” Yamucha gaped, wide eyed and stunned and Kuririn chose to believe that his friend was impressed by his boldness.

“Yup,” he grinned triumphantly.

“And she actually said yes?” Tenshinhan put in, all three of his eyes wide as his brows arched in what appeared to be genuine shock.

Kuririn frowned, taking offense to his friends’ display of such open disbelief. “Yes,” he grumbled. “You don’t have to sound so surprised.”

“We just didn’t think you would have nerve,” Yamucha chuckled in a way that was likely meant to be reassuring, but just added to the insult. 

Kuririn sighed as he glanced out the window and towards the night sky. It was late and everyone except the three of them were fast asleep. The upstairs bedrooms were full, so they were all set to spend the night sleeping in their futons downstairs. Yet Kuririn couldn’t find it in himself to rest while Goku was away, so Tenshinhan and Yamucha had agreed to wait up with him in the living room until she returned. Yet if the kitchen clock was right, then Goku had already been gone for hours and Kuririn was starting to wonder if she was going to return at all.

“I just hope she didn’t change her mind,” he sighed morosely. Goku was with Upa after all. Perhaps seeing how tall and handsome he was had reminded her that she could do better than Kuririn. Or perhaps she had gotten side tracked and forgotten their promise. The latter thought was more likely, although no less disheartening.

“I’m sure that wasn’t the case,” Yamucha assured.

“It’s late. Upa’s father likely suggested that she send the night.”

Somehow Tenshinhan’s words failed to offer him any comfort as visions of Goku and Upa getting cozy by a warm fire beneath a blanket of stars danced before his eyes. His heart tightened at the thought and suddenly Kuririn wanted to crawl beneath the floorboards and hide.

“She’ll be back in the morning, I’m sure of it,” Yamucha put in quickly, likely sensing the gloomy air churning around Kuririn. “Let’s just focus on tomorrow. What do you have planned?”

Kuririn groaned, his shoulders slumping in a mixture of embarrassment and despair. “I don’t know,” he admitted. “I don’t really have anything in mind. To be honest, I didn’t put much faith in her saying ‘yes’ myself.”

Tenshinhan frowned, but said nothing. Kuririn had a feeling that he was just as inexperienced as himself when it came to romance and likely had nothing useful to offer. Instead the two of them turned to Yamucha as he was the only one with any knowledge in this area.

“Well it is Goku, after all,” he began thoughtfully. “You won’t have to do anything extravagant for her. My advice is to just keep things simple.”

“Simple how? I’ve never been on a date before. I wouldn’t know the first thing.”

Yamucha chuckled at his confusion and Kuririn couldn’t help, but think that he was enjoying the fact that he was an expert in something. “Don’t over think things! Look, all you have to do is think of the things Goku likes and do something based on that.” 

“Well Son does like fighting and food,” Tenshinhan offered. “She doesn’t seem to have much interest beyond that.”

“She enjoys spending time in the country,” Yamucha put in thoughtfully. “She always prefers to be out in the wilderness.” Yamucha gave a long hum as he considered the situation for a moment. “Maybe you could take her fishing?”

Kuririn turned the idea over in his head. It seemed almost too perfect. “Yeah, fishing would work. Maybe we could find another island somewhere.”

“And if you’re still worried about being alone, Bulma and I could join you. I wanted to get her to have a talk with Goku anyway and trapping them on an island might be the perfect way to have her finally do it.”

“That would be great,” Kuririn beamed. At last he was finally looking forward to the next morning.

*

The morning sun felt warm against Goku’s skin as she stretched her arms high above her head in order to get herself fully awake. She was eager to head back to Kame House in order to stuff herself with whatever Lunch had prepared for breakfast before heading off with Kuririn. She hoped that whatever he had planned for the day involved food.

It was hardly past dawn, but Upa and Bora were already up and preparing for the day. Bora had invited Goku to stay for breakfast, but she declined, reasoning that she had already stayed away long enough. She was just about to call to Kinto’un when Upa approached her.

“Goku-san, before you leave, may I speak with you in private?” he asked. His head was bowed and his whole posture seemed timid and meek and for a moment Goku wondered if something was wrong.

“Sure,” Goku shrugged. 

She expected Upa to start talking right away, but instead she watched as he walked towards the woods and motioned for her to follow. They walked a few good paces into the tree line of the forest until they were engulfed in the early morning shade and the tent and Karin’s Tower were a distant blur between the rows of sturdy tree trunks. 

“Goku-san, I hope you don’t think me forward, but I couldn’t stop thinking about what you said the other night,” Upa began. His cheeks were already flushed, but he forced himself to meet Goku’s gaze as he spoke. “When you told me that you had never considered finding love… The thought of it just made me so sad.”

Already Goku had a feeling that she knew where all of this was going, but it did not stop her from going ridged when Upa grasped her hand. His fingers shook as he cradled her right hand between his palms, but his gaze didn’t waver and he even managed to pull on a shy smile as he spoke. “Goku-san, you have always been strong and kind, but now you are also a beautiful woman who would make any man a fine wife. I know that I am still young, but in a few years time I will be a man.”

“Your father talked to me about this,” Goku said and was surprised to see Upa’s eyes widen in what looked like shock with perhaps a touch of embarrassment. “He asked me to consider you to be my husband last night.”

“My honorable father asked you to consider becoming my bride?” he echoed in a hushed whisper. She watched as the shock slowly faded from Upa’s gaze and suddenly hope began glowing in his brown eyes. “W-what did you tell him?”

Goku looked down at their hands. Her skin had always been sun kissed and tan, but it surprised her to see that Upa was actually darker than her. His skin was pleasantly earthy and his touch was warm even if his fingers were still trembling. “I told him I would think about it.”

A heavy puff of air escaped Upa’s lips as he raised Goku’s hand to his face and pressed his mouth to her palm. She cringed at the gesture, but did her best to fight the urge to pull away. Upa was her friend after all and she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. “Goku-san you’ve made me so happy!” he breathed as he pressed his mouth to her hand again. “I know that it is still years away and you may find yourself another man before I come of age, but my heart already soars with joy!” 

He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her, pressing their bodies close. It was different from when Upa had held her at the Tournament just the other day, because Upa seemed to hold her tighter and he sighed instead of laughed as he pressed his cheek against her neck. “I’ll be so good to you, Goku! I’ll hunt plenty of game for us to eat and build a wonderful tent. And I shall train everyday with my father so that when that Piccolo Daimao returns I can fight by your side!”

Goku chuckled and gave his back a stiff pat. “I’m sure you’ll get much stronger in time Upa,” she said as he released her at last. “And I’ll consider you, I promise, I just… I gotta go see my friends.”

“Of course,” Upa chuckled. “Of course you do.”

They said their farewells as Goku called to Kinto’un and flew away, a sea of questions swirling in her head.

*

“Now I have to go fishing?” Bulma groaned as she sat gingerly on the window sill. “Why? Can’t we just go home?”

“It’s just for a little while Bulma,” Yamucha pleaded as he looked over the maps he had spread across the floor in search of a decent spot to fish. “Besides, if we don’t go, Kuririn might lose his nerve and cancel the date.”

Bulma huffed as she considered her options. On the one hand she really was proud of Kuririn for finding the courage to take a timid first step towards expressing his feelings for Goku and the last thing she wanted would be for Kuririn to fall to pieces before he could make any real progress. Yet the fact remained that yesterday had been a very _very_ long and emotionally exhausting day and the only thing she wanted to do now that she had had some rest was go home and spend time with her family. 

What’s more, Bulma already knew that the real reason Yamucha wanted her to play chaperone was so she could finally have that “woman to woman” talk with Goku he thought she needed. She grimaced at the thought. She wasn’t sure what would be more unpleasant, having to teach the birds and the bees to a grown woman or having to explain to the very same grown woman the sort of underwear she should have under her clothes.

She huffed and slid gracelessly from the window sill and down to the floor. Bulma shifted her feet and smoothed the folds of her skirt when Yamucha failed to notice her movements. “You know,” she began in a pointedly flat tone. “I can’t help, but notice that you’re putting a lot of effort into coordinating this date when you and I haven’t been out in over three years.”

Yamucha stiffened at her comment, a guilt ridden look flashing across his face as he bowed his head and blushed at the floor. Bulma would be lying if she said she wasn’t a little bit pleased with this reaction as she waited for his response.

“I… sorry.”

Bulma scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Really? Is that all you have to say?” she sneered. “You’re only apologizing because you think that’s what I want to hear.”

“I had to train,” Yamucha said defensively. “It was important to me. I wanted to get stronger for the tournament.”

“Why couldn’t you just train at home?”

“I trained at home for the first tournament and it didn’t work,” he countered. “I trained here for the second and that didn’t work either.” He frowned, bitter and defeated. “I’m no good at this.”

Yamucha grew silent then. His shoulders slumping as he rubbed at his arms and Bulma soon realized that she didn’t want this. She had just wanted Yamucha to feel bad about them, because she hated the idea of being tossed aside like she didn’t matter. Yet seeing Yamucha look so gloomy and defeated wasn’t satisfying in the least. 

“Yamucha, look,” she sighed, “you can’t compare yourself to Son-kun. She’s in another league.”

“It wasn’t too long ago that we were evenly matched,” he lamented. “I’m proud of Goku I really am, but I thought that, just for once, I’d have a chance.” His hand reached up and brushed against the cross shaped scar along his cheek with a self conscious hesitance. A part of Bulma was tempted to ask what had happened to him during his training, but she lost her courage when he let out a pitying sigh. “I worked so hard.”

Bulma shifted onto her hands and knees as she crawled across the wood paneled floor and over to Yamucha’s side. He looked at her with mild surprise as she put her own pride away for the moment and laid her head against his tanned shoulder. “Where are you gonna take me on our next date?” she asked as she lifted his arm and draped it across her. “It better be somewhere nice.”

“Of course!” He smiled as his mood instantly brightened. Yamucha pressed her against his side and Bulma smiled as she remembered how warm he felt. “I’ll take you to that restaurant you like, the one where you cook the meat right on the table.”

“So far so good.”

“Then we’ll catch a movie, any one you want to see.”

“I like where this is going.”

“And then… we’ll see where the evening takes us.”

“Perfect! That sounds like a four star date.” She leaned in and planted a quick peck to his cheek. The pink out line of her lipstick lingered on his skin and Bulma smiled at how it stood out against the red of his blush. “I knew you were a perfect boyfriend.”

*

Goku was delighted by Kuririn’s idea to go fishing with Bulma and Yamucha. After her morning conversation with Upa she was excited to do something fun and easy with her friends. She ate her breakfast quickly, finishing off her sixth bowl by the time her friends were ready to go. 

The four of them piled into a capsule plane Bulma had brought with her and flew to a place with a large lake surrounded by mountains and a dense forest. The area was secluded enough that Goku thought that it would be fine to strip down to her skin in order to gather fish, but Yamucha and Bulma yelled at her before Goku could even get her belt undone.

“How can I fish with my clothes on?” Goku grumbled in disappointment as Bulma hung her head the way she often did when Goku did something she thought was wrong.

“We’ll use fishing rods Goku,” Yamucha said with an exasperated sigh as he grabbed a bundle of sticks with strings attached to them and handed them out. 

Yamucha showed Goku how to attach a worm to the little hook on the end of the string and the way to throw the string into the water so a fish could find it. Goku thought Yamucha’s way of fishing seemed slow and boring, but the others were intent on playing by his rules, so Goku decided to be a good sport and follow along.

It took almost an hour for Yamucha to catch the first fish and by then Goku couldn’t help, but voice her annoyance at the slow game.

“Well, let’s make things interesting,” Yamucha said as he cast out his line. “Let’s make it a contest: you and Kuririn versus me and Bulma. Whoever catches the most fish wins.”

“What do we win?” Bulma piped in as she reeled in her line only to frown at the worm still dangling from her hook. Goku could tell that Bulma was even more bored than she was and had to wonder why Bulma had come along in the first place. “It better be something good.”

“Bulma it’s just a friendly bet,” Yamucha laughed. “None of us has anything to wager.”

“You can have my prize money if you win,” Goku ventured.

“Goku no!” Kuririn nearly shrieked, his whole face turning pale at the prospect of Goku giving away her winnings. “You can’t do that!”

“Why not?” she shrugged. “I don’t really know what to do with that stuff anyway.”

“Keep your money, Son-kun,” Bulma said. “I’ve got plenty.” Bulma hummed as she considered the situation. “How about this: losers jump into the lake, winners gets first dibs on drinks.”

“We’ll take that bet.” Kuririn flashed Bulma with a smug grin as he elbowed Goku’s side. “We’ll win for sure.”

“Not with the way you two have been fishing,” Bulma said haughtily as she cast out her line. “Yamucha’s on my team, so we’re sure to win.”

A tug suddenly came on her line and Goku felt her excitement peak as she began to reel in her line in the slow careful way that Yamucha showed her. “I got one!”

*

They fished until the sun had nearly set and by the time they were done the four of them ended up tied with Yamucha having caught five fish, Goku and Kuririn catching three a piece, and Bulma being content with only one. The four of them happily decided to call the contest a draw, because Goku felt certain that Bulma didn’t really want to jump in the lake and would have felt awful forcing her (which is why she had intentionally let her line break on her last fish).

“I wanna catch just one more,” Goku ventured as she mended her line while Yamucha and Kuririn got to work gutting and scaling their catches. “I don’t think twelve fish will be enough for everyone.”

“I’ll help you, Goku,” Kuririn volunteered eagerly, but Bulma was quick to wave him off before he could even grab his fishing rod.

“That’s okay, Kuririn, I’ll go with Son-kun,” Bulma put in quickly as she looped her arm around Goku’s in a friendly manner she had never used before. “We need a little girl time.”

Goku frowned as Bulma lead her away from the others and towards the edge of the lake. They walked a few paces out until their little camp was almost a spec in the distance and Goku just hoped that this was a better spot with more eager fish.

“You know Son-Kun,” Bulma began cautiously as Goku cast out her line, “Yamucha told me about what happened in the stadium. How you tried to change in front of everyone?”

“Everyone was doin’ it,” Goku said defensively as she watched the ripples on the surface of the lake. “How come it’s okay for Kuririn and Yamucha to take their shirts off in front of people, but not me?”

She caught the way Bulma’s face began to glow red from the corner of her eyes as she stumbled to find the right words. “Well, Goku, that’s because… well they’re men. Men don’t have… Goku you’re older now. Didn’t you notice the way your body… _changed_ in the last few years?”

Goku looked down at her chest and new right away that was what Bulma was talking about. She remembered how Bulma used to tease her for being “flat chested” when they had first met and how Goku had marveled at what she had thought was a second butt growing out of Bulma’s front. For years Goku had just assumed it was a condition some people had, and then one day her own chest began to grow tender and lumpy during her training in the Heavenly Realm. She had just assumed it was a side effect of Mr. Popo’s training, but the lumps just kept getting bigger and softer until Goku had to bind them down to keep them out of the way.

“You mean these lumpy things,” Goku said and Bulma suddenly got that disappointed look in her eyes. “Is it a second butt like yours?”

“Son-kun they’re called ‘ _breasts_ ’!” Bulma groused. Whatever patience she had been holding onto evaporated in the face of Goku’s question. “We have _breasts_ , because we’re women! Men don’t have them and that’s why it’s okay for them to take their shirts off.”

Goku gave a sour frown at Bulma’s words. “That doesn’t seem fair.”

“Well… that’s just the way things are and…” Again Bulma’s face turned pink as she rubbed at her arms. “And you don’t wrap breasts down with bandages. You have to wear a bra.”

“What’s that?”

Bulma’s face was bright red as she chewed her lower lip and considered her next words. “They’re like underwear for your chest.” She groaned and rubbed at her cheeks as if trying to scrub away the redness that still continued to deepen and spread across her face. “Didn’t anyone ever tell you about this? Your grandfather? Lunch?”

She hummed and thought it over. “Grampa never mentioned anything like that, but… Lunch did teach me what it means when I bleed once a month.” She chuckled as Bulma’s eyes widened. “I thought I was gonna _die_ the first time that happened!”

“Goku!” Bulma groaned as she hung her head in that familiar way. “This isn’t funny. You’re not a little kid anymore. You need to know these things!”

The words were like a soft jab to her chest as Goku was suddenly reminded of Upa and Bora’s strange behavior towards her. “Bulma,” Goku began softly. “What’s… marriage?”

A heavy silence settled between them as Bulma stiffened at the question. Clearly this was not something she was expecting Goku to bring up. She watched as Bulma took a moment fidgeted nervously against the twigs and dried leaves she was standing on as she processed the new subject. “Why do you want to know about marriage?”

“Upa and his dad brought it up,” Goku told her as she slowly reeled in her line only to find that it was still empty. “They want me to become Upa’s bride when he’s a man.”

The color drained from Bulma’s face so quickly that Goku wondered if it hurt at all. “Wh-what did you say?”

Goku shrugged and turned the base of her fishing rod in her hand. “I told them I would think about it, but I didn’t know what any of it meant.”

Bulma pressed a hand to Goku’s side and she was momentarily stunned by the firmness of her friend’s grasp. “Son-kun, please don’t agree to things that you don’t understand!” Bulma pleaded.

“But, what’s marriage? What does it mean?”

“Marriage is when two people decided to live together, forever,” Bulma said carefully. “But you should only get married if you love the person you’re marrying.” She frowned and chewed her lip thoughtfully before asking “do you love Upa?”

Her throat felt tight and lumpy at the question and suddenly Goku didn’t feel like fishing anymore. “I… I dunno.”

“Then you can’t marry him!”

“But he won’t be a man for a few years. What about then?”

Bulma frowned as she considered just how to phrase her response. “Only if you love him and if you don’t love him now then you might not love him in a few years.” She let out a long breath and screwed her eyes shut. When she opened them again she gently grasped Goku’s hands in her own. “Son-kun,” she began firmly, “you’re so young and so beautiful. There are plenty of men out there in the world that will say things to you and want to do things with you, but you can’t just say yes to them! You have to wait for a man who really loves you, and that you love too. Don’t just throw everything away at the first offer someone makes you!” 

A dull pain blossomed just behind her eyes and Goku wanted so badly to just shake her head and have all these complicated new thoughts go away. She didn’t like this, any of it. She didn’t like her lumpy chest or her longer body. She didn’t like how weird Upa was being or the strange things Bulma was saying. “Why does everything have to change?” Goku sighed. “I want everything to be the same.”

The laugh Bulma gave was soft, tight, and just a bit pitying as she gave Goku’s hand one last squeeze. “That’s just part of growing up, Son-kun. Everything changes.”

By the time the sun had disappeared Goku had decided to give up on catching another fish and the two of them walked back to the camp site underneath the growing star light. There was still the faint glow of twilight surrounding them, but Bulma’s vision wasn’t nearly as sharp as Goku’s and she stumbled over every rock and twig in their path. Eventually Goku had to grab Bulma’s elbow in order to guide her along the rest of the way. 

When they got back, Yamucha and Kuririn had already started a fire and had cooked up most of the day’s catch. Bulma, now able to see clearly in the light of the fire pit, went straight to Yamucha’s side and sat beside on the fallen log he was using as a seat. Her shoulders slumped as she rested her head against him, whispering something that Goku did her best not to hear. 

“No luck catching another fish, huh?” Kuririn asked as Goku placed her fishing rod on the pile with the others.

“Yeah,” Goku shrugged, trying and failing to keep the disappointment out of her voice. “I guess twelve will have to be enough.”

“Y-you can always have some of my fish,” Kuririn offered as Goku sat on the warm grass and tried to clear her cluttered head.

“Nah, that wouldn’t be fair.”

“It’s more than fair,” he insisted. “Besides, Lunch-san packed us all bentos in case we didn’t catch anything, so there’s plenty of food.”

Goku felt relieved to hear that and gratefully tucked in and ate the fish that Kuririn (and Yamucha) had given her along with Lunch’s bento box. By the time she had finished eating, her belly was beginning to feel warm and full and suddenly the confusing thoughts seemed distant and far less troubling. 

She leaned back on the grass and gazed up at the stars shining above them as Yamucha began clearing the camp. (Apparently Bulma had no interest in spending a night sleeping outside and insisted that they head back to Kame House right away.) It was the second night of the full moon and Goku felt her skin tingle beneath its pale glow. She had to admit it was nice to take a break from her training and just sit back and enjoy the little things.

The sound of the long blades of grass rustling alerted her to Kuririn’s presence as he settled down beside her. She watched from the corner of her eye as he leaned down on the ground, resting his weight on his elbows as he gazed at Goku with an uncertain expression. “Did you have fun today, Goku?” he practically whispered and Goku had to wonder what Kuririn had become so nervous about.

“Yeah,” Goku whispered back, figuring that keeping her voice low might make Kuririn feel better. “It was fun learning a new way to catch fish, even thought I think my way’s better.”

Kuririn smiled at her, the tension instantly leaving his body as slumped down towards the grass in open relief. “I’m glad!” he breathed softly as he pillowed his right arm beneath his head. “I was so nervous. I thought this date would be a disaster!”

Goku frowned at his words. “‘Date’?” she repeated. She couldn’t recall hearing the word used that way before. “What’s a ‘date’?”

The sound of Bulma and Yamucha snickering softly to each other reached Goku’s ears as she watched Kuririn’s eyes widen in what looked like quiet horror as his whole face turned bright red. His head looked like a ripe tomato, but Goku decided not to say that out loud. She knew that Kuririn hated when she made that sort of comment and she didn’t want him getting distracted before he answered her question.

“Well, um, you know,” Kuririn stammered awkwardly in that way he often did when he was around pretty girls. Yet there weren’t any pretty girls around, so Goku didn’t understand why her friend was stammering. “It’s when… when two people who, um, who like each other s-spend time together.”

Goku laughed as she turned on her side in order to face Kuririn better. “Kuririn! If that’s what it is then this isn’t our first date!” she chuckled. His face kept its reddish glow, but now his eyes were wide with surprise instead of fear and Goku supposed that was better. “We spend lots of time together!”

“Well, Goku, you see-”

“I like spending time with you,” Goku told him brightly as she reached over and placed her hand on his head.

Kuririn stiffened at her touch, his face losing a bit of its redness as he blinked at her. “R-really?”

Goku nodded and gave the top of his head a fond pat. “After eating and fighting it’s my favorite thing. You’re my friend after all.”

For a moment, Goku could have sworn she couldn’t hear Kuririn’s heart beat, but it was only a moment and soon he began to take deep, heavy breaths as he trembled beneath the starlight. “Goku,” he breathed. He reached up and grasped the hand that Goku had placed on his head, giving it a gentle squeeze before lowering it between them. “Goku,” he began again, seemingly forcing himself to meet her gaze. “Would you… would you ever consider being more than friends with me?”

Goku frowned and looked down at the hand grasping her own. Kuririn’s fingers were rough and calloused like hers, but even though they were smaller his hand was still a warm comforting presence against her skin. “You’re my _best_ friend, if that’s what ya mean,”

A cloud of emotions seemed to settle on Kuririn’s face then. He seemed frustrated and confused and happy all at once as he brushed his thumb against the inside of Goku’s palm. “Goku, I love…” Kuririn frowned and bit his lip as if reconsidering everything that had just happened that night. He shook his head, sighed, then began again. “I love… being your best friend.”

Goku smiled and shifted against the grass. “I’m glad,” she whispered and in that moment she felt content knowing that she could always rely on Kuririn to stay the same.


	3. Chapter 3

It was nearly midnight by the time they returned to Kame House and nearly everyone on the island was already fast asleep. Kuririn helped Yamucha unload the plane while Goku fixed herself a midnight snack and Bulma quickly jumped into the shower, feeling safe in doing so while Kame Sennin was sound asleep. When everyone was settled in, Bulma took Goku into Lunch’s room where they rolled out the spare futons and went to bed while Yamucha and Kuririn made due sleeping in the living room.

By morning, Lunch, who was still in her friendly state of mind much to everyone’s relief, was the first one to wake in order to prepare breakfast for the group. The rest of the occupants of the tiny house gradually began to awaken and gather downstairs, most of them hoping to get their share of breakfast before Goku could stuff it into her bottomless pit of a stomach.

“I think I’ve had enough adventure for a while,” Bulma announced once everyone was awake and downstairs. “I’m heading back to West City today.”

“It’s about time,” Oolong grumbled. “I was wondering when you would finally get around to taking us home.”

“Quiet free loader,” Bulma shot back tersely before turning her attention towards Goku, who was currently working on her fifth bowl of steamed rice. “Son-kun, why don’t you come to the city with us?”

Goku frowned as she swallowed the chewed rice in her mouth. “No way,” she said, scowling at the very idea. “That place is way too loud and crazy for me.”

“It’s not crazy,” Bulma countered in what she hoped was a patient manner. “Besides, don’t you want to find out what kind of new food there is in the city?”

Goku seemed to consider this for a moment, but soon shook her head as she switched from her empty rice bowl to a plate of noodles. “Nah, I’d rather get back to training.”

Bulma did her best to hold back the weary groan bubbling in her throat. She knew convincing Goku to come back to West City with her would be a hard sell, but a foolish little part of her had hoped that Goku had matured enough over the last three years to just blindly agree with what Bulma told her. Clearly that wasn’t the case.

Thankfully Yamucha had likely picked up on what Bulma was trying to do and decided to jump in. “Come on, Goku. The city’s not so bad. Besides, it’s been so long since we spent time together when fighting wasn’t involved.”

For a moment it seemed like Yamucha’s pitch had worked as Goku began to look thoughtful while swirling her noodles around her plate, yet another sour look settled on her features as a new thought entered her mind. “You guys are just trying to talk me into gettin’ a bra!”

Bulma cringed at Goku’s blunt words and loud, distasteful tone as Yamucha stiffened uncomfortably by her side. The two of them watched in muted horror as Lunch blushed and hurried back into the kitchen under the pretense of cleaning, while Tenshinhan ducked his reddening face in order to stare far too intensely at the bowl of noodles in his hands. To her side, Bulma could hear Kuririn sputter and nearly choke on his breakfast as Pu’ar laughed awkwardly and Chaozu stared blankly, his expression likely a result of utter confusion. Worse of all was the way Kame Sennin’s and Oolong’s eyes widened as their attention firmly switched over to their conversation. 

“If you’re going to go bra shopping, I should come along,” Oolong volunteered eagerly, his eyes positively gleaming at the prospect of visiting a lingerie store. “I’m an expert in that area!”

“Stuff it, pig,” Bulma sneered venomously. “I doubt there’s even a single _department store_ in West City you haven’t been banned from.”

The others shared an awkward chuckle as Kame Sennin pointedly cleared his throat, a sound that made Bulma’s gut twist with dread as her body tensed slightly in anticipation of the old man uttering some lewd words. “Goku-chan, I think you should go to the city with your friends,” he advised her sagely. “A change of pace will do you some good.” 

The air in the room shifted slightly at Kame Sennin’s serious tone, but Bulma made sure to keep herself steady even as Goku’s features crumpled into a childish pout. “But Gramps, I really should get back to my training soon. Piccolo’s probably off right now workin’ on some new technique.”

Kame Sennin responded to Goku’s words by reaching across the narrow table and giving the top of her head a quick rap. His mouth was set in a flat line as his heavy brows knitted together. If it weren’t for the dark lenses hiding his eyes, Bulma had a feeling there would be a very serious glaze peering in Goku’s direction. “Goku,” he began in a tone that was firm and left no room for argument, “your body has changed and grown much over these last few years, but you are very much a kid at heart. You cannot stay ignorant of the world any longer. Adulthood is upon you whether you like it or not. Explore the world, expand your mind and grow. Do not stay a naïve child forever.”

Bulma turned her gaze towards Goku and was surprised to find a sheepish look settling upon her friend’s face as she slumped her shoulders and seemed to resign herself to following her master’s command. A triumphant grin pulled at the corner of Bulma’s lips at the sight. She never would have guessed that she would have found an ally in the old man, but she was grateful he had intervened. 

Yet that moment of gratitude was short lived as she watched Kame Sennin’s authoritative air evaporate as a mischievous grin spread across his wrinkled face. “And seeing how this is a momentous occasion in a young woman’s development, I think it only fitting that your ole master come along to bear witness.”

The group all let out a collective groan as Bulma quickly got to her feet and slammed her fist into the back of Kame Sennin’s bald head. “That’s just the sort of thing I’d expect you to say,” she grumbled as the old man fell face first into the table.

*

“You can’t really be serious about this,” Kuririn all but wept as he watched Bulma dig through her belongings. It was just the two of them in Lunch’s room, yet even though they were behind closed doors Kuririn was determined not to make too much of a spectacle of himself in front of Bulma. Even if the whole reason he had gone to see her was to beg her to change his mind, Kuririn was still resolute to keep a little bit of his dignity intact. “Goku and I only went on one date. You can’t take her to West City so soon!”

“Oh Kuririn, don’t be so clingy,” Bulma chided. “Girls don’t like that. Even girls like Son-kun.”

“But-”

“What did you think was going to happen?” she cut in quickly. “The two of you would just go on date after date, every single day, until she fell in love with you?”

His face flushed at the question. “Well,” he muttered sheepishly. “Not exactly…”

Bulma scoffed and gave her hair a haughty flick over her shoulders. “You’re so naïve.” 

“Well I’ve never done anything like this before,” he grumbled bitterly. “Can’t I at least go with you?”

“Why? So you can watch her?” Bulma asked snidely and again Kuririn felt his face flush at how embarrassingly close to the truth her words had landed. “Kuririn, she’s not going to meet someone and fall in love just because she was out of your sight for a few days!”

“You don’t know that,” Kuririn said defensively. “Anything could happen.”

“Kuririn!” Bulma huffed as she turned to frown in his direction. “You’re being clingy again! Besides, Yamucha and I will be with her. We’ll make sure Goku doesn’t do anything stupid while the two of you are apart.” A smug smile pulled at her lips as she crossed her arms proudly over her chest. “Besides, I have an important job for you to do while we’re gone.”

“What do you mean?” Kuririn asked wearily. His insides began to recoil with dread as Bulma’s smile only widened. 

“You’re going to get Son-kun a present.”

“A present?” His heart lightened at the words. Kuririn didn’t know much about girls, but he was certain that they enjoyed getting presents. Yet a girl like Goku was a different matter. “But what kinda present would Goku even want?”

Bulma gave a smug chortle at his question. “Ah, you’d all be so lost without me,” she practically beamed as she handed him her Dragon Radar.

*

Goku felt her head begin to swim a bit at the over powering smell from within the store. She felt as if a hundred different scents were hitting her all at once as she stood just a few feet away from the entrance and struggled not to choke. The wafting her way was floral and soft, yet spicy and pungent all at the same time, and every now again the smell would turn fruity or powdery and it was starting to make her eyes water.

“Don’t make that face,” Bulma chided as she continued to wait impatiently by the glass door. She was holding the metal handle in one hand as the other rested firmly on her hip, her red lips twisted in an irritated frown. “We haven’t even stepped in yet!”

Goku felt her stomach roll at the thought of going inside, because if the smell was this strong from the sidewalk she couldn’t imagine what it would be like up close. “Can’t you just get that bra thing without me?” she asked wearily.

Bulma’s shoulders slumped as she gave a heavy sigh. “I wish I could, but I need you there so they can measure you.”

Goku wasn’t sure what Bulma meant by that, but she didn’t like the sound of it. She shifted and sighed as she tried to consider how to get out of the situation, yet Yamucha’s hand landing on her shoulder only served to remind her that she was essentially trapped on all sides. 

“C’mon, Goku,” Yamucha began encouragingly. “It’ll be fine.”

“I still don’t get why I need one of those bra things,” Goku sighed as she looked down at her chest. The bandages were holding her breast lump things just fine and she couldn’t even see them through her shirt. Yet Bulma kept insisting that it was wrong, even though this was the way she had been doing things for years. “I mean, you don’t wear one, right Yamucha?”

Yamucha’s face turned bright red at the question and from the corner of her eye Goku caught the way Bulma nearly fell over herself in shock. “No! Of course not.”

“Son-kun!” Bulma nearly shrieked as she finally let go of the door in order to march over to their end of the side walk. “I already told you: women have breast, men don’t. Women wear bras, men _don’t_! Now stop pouting like a child and get in the store!”

Bulma grabbed her arm and gave it a firm tug as Yamucha put his hands on her shoulders and pushed. It would have been easy for Goku to fight them both off, but she decided against it. Closing her eyes, she did her best to remember what Kame Sennin had said about exploring the world, and took a reluctant step forward. 

Yamucha held the glass door open, allowing Bulma and Goku to enter, and before she could rethink her action, the door swung shut behind her. Goku glanced over her shoulder and was disheartened to see that Yamucha was still standing on the other side of the glass, an apologetic smile on his face as he took the opportunity to walk away.

“It’s a women’s store, Son-kun,” Bulma explained as gently as she could manage. “It’s better that he didn’t come inside.”

Goku didn’t pretend to understand, because this whole situation was so confusing, and instead focused her energy on trying to breathe in the overly fragrant air. 

The inside of the store was pink, very pink, and everywhere she turned there were shelves and racks lined with little clothes that looked very delicate and soft. The lights seemed to be turned down low, as if everyone was getting ready to go to bed, and when she glanced at the people in the store she noticed that everyone did look female.

“Which one’s the bra?” Goku asked, hoping that she could somehow move the process along faster. 

Bulma guided her over to a shelf where she grabbed what looked like a silk strap with two soft, padded cups attached to it. “This is,” Bulma said as she held the bra up for Goku to see. Goku took it in hand and frowned. It looked familiar, like something she had seen in one of Kame Sennin’s magazines, and felt even softer than she had expected. She brushed her thumb along the padded front and felt the rough patch of her calloused fingers snag against the smooth material. It was hard for her to imagine herself in something so soft and delicate when all of her clothes had always been course, durable, and heavy. “But they come in different sizes, so we have to find one that fits you.”

She watched as Bulma looked around the dimly lit store, scanning for something in the distance. After a moment she smiled as her eyes landed on something and she began waving. Goku turned around and saw a woman with short brown hair and black clothes approach them. “Can I help you ladies?” she asked pleasant, a big bright smile pulling at her face as she spoke.

Bulma smiled back at the woman as she put a gentle hand on the small of Goku’s back. “She needs to be fitted for a bra,” Bulma explained.

“Okay,” the woman said as she reached into her side pocket and pulled out a long yellow strip that had been rolled into a tight ball. Her eyes turned towards Goku and her smile seemed to widen. “Do you know what size you usually wear?”

“Actually,” Bulma cut in, drawing the woman’s attention back towards her, “that’s what we’re trying to figure out. You see, she’s never worn a bra before.”

Goku watched as the woman’s eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly schooled her features, covering up the startled look with a friendly laugh. “Oh, really?” she chuckled. “Late bloomer I see.”

“Very late,” Bulma put in teasingly. “If you can believe it, she was flat as a board just three years ago.”

“Oh my!”

The two women giggled at one another as if they had just heard some great joke, but Goku just stood there and felt very lost and eager to leave. She wondered where Yamucha had gone and quietly hoped he hadn’t gotten any thing to eat without her.

“Well, I’ll go ahead and take her measurements then.”

Goku blinked as Bulma pressed both hands down on Goku’s shoulders and gave a very pointed squeeze. “Son-kun, this nice woman is going to take you into a fitting room and measure your chest,” Bulma explained in a very pointed, terse tone of voice. “Be on your best behavior, ‘kay?”

“Uh, okay.” 

Bulma’s hands lingered on Goku’s shoulder for just a moment, before allowing her to follow the smiling woman towards the back of the store. The woman pushed back a curtain that lead into a smaller pink room filled with rows of dark pink doors. The lighting in the room was slightly better and the smell wasn’t quite as overwhelming. The woman walked up to one of the doors and gave it a quick rap before fishing out a key from her pocket and unlocked it.

The woman ushered Goku inside and Goku was relieved to see that the walls were an off white sort of color with gold accents instead of pink. “Now,” the woman began, her voice very soft and patient as she spoke, “would you like me to step outside while you take your shirt off?”

“No, that’s okay,” Goku shrugged as she loosened her sash in order to more easily slip out of her top. 

The top half of her orange gi came off easily enough and before Goku could toss it aside, the woman stepped forward and politely took it from her. She watched as the woman folded the shirt into a neat little square before setting it on a little chair in the corner. The woman then turned and beamed at her, waiting for Goku to hand off her blue shirt. 

“Uh, you don’t have to fold this one,” Goku explained. “It’s heavy.”

The woman laughed pleasantly. “Oh, I’m sure it’s not that bad,” she grinned.

Goku hesitated for a moment before deciding to just continue to strip down. She pulled off her blue undershirt with some effort before handing it over to the woman. Goku watched as the woman grabbed the fabric and nearly doubled over, her face turning bright red as her arms strained under the effort necessary to keep the shirt from touching the ground.

“See? I told you it was heavy,” Goku told her as she took the shirt back. “This shirt weighs about fifty pounds.”

“F-fifty pounds?” she gaped, eyes nearly bulging out of her head as she processed that statement. “But… but it’s a t-shirt.”

Goku was tempted to tell her that Kami-sama had given it to her, but she decided against it as she did her best to fold the shirt as well as the woman had before setting it on the chair. “Well, it’s a special shirt.”

The woman laughed nervously as she did her best to recover herself. She began unfolding the yellow string when something caught her attention. “Um, miss,” she began hesitantly as she eyed Goku’s chest worriedly. “Could you… Are you injured?”

Goku followed her gaze towards the bandages she kept wrapped around her chest. She chuckled and tugged at the fabric until it began to unravel. “Oh no, I just like to keep my chest taped down,” she explained. “You see, the lumpy things get in my way when I fight, so I wrap ‘em up.”

“Um, well,” the woman stammered awkwardly as Goku handed her the wadded up bandages. “I… I suppose I could find you some … sports bras to wear instead.”

“They have bras for fighting?” Goku asked brightly. She took in a deep breath and smiled as she exhaled, feeling less restricted without her shirts or binding. Suddenly finding a bra didn’t seem like that much of a bother. “That’s good!”

“Well, something like that,” the woman said, forcing the cheer back into her voice as she pulled out the yellow strip. “I’m going to take some measurements to figure out your size. Can you raise your arms for me?”

Goku did as she was directed; raising her arms high above her head as the woman loosely wrapped the yellow strip around her, resting it limply beneath her chest lumps. 

“Okay, now take a breath.” 

Goku inhaled. 

“Now let it all out.”

Goku exhaled and the woman tightened the string around her chest until it felt somewhat snug.

“Okay, very good,” she muttered softly before loosening her string again and wrapping it around the center of Goku’s lumps. “Now we’re going to measure your cup size,” she said softly and Goku shuddered at the sensation of the plastic material brushing against her nipples. She felt her face flush and her body tingle as the woman unwrap the plastic band from around her in order to write something down. 

“Well it looks like you’re a 36B,” the woman announced pleasantly. “You can just wait right here a sec while I grab a few samples for you to try out.”

*

Kuririn frowned as he gazed at the yellow light blinking against the radar’s green display. He had already found one Dragon Ball yesterday, the three star San Xing Qiu, but was still having a hard time making heads or tails out of the radar’s chart. Bulma’s design was overly simple, to the point where Kuririn only found himself more confused on how to operate the device given its single button navigation with seemingly multiple functions. Sometimes he would press down too many times and find the screen zooming in too far or press too hard and find the chart changing from an aerial view to one measuring depth. Eventually he had just quiet literally stumbled upon the first ball, but Kuririn knew he couldn’t continue his hunt this way.

He sighed and gazed around the expansive field and tall grass waving peacefully in the wind. The Dragon Ball was around here somewhere, fairly close if he was guessing right, but finding it would be like searching for a needle in a hay stack in this valley.

“C’mon Kuririn,” he grumbled to himself as he pressed the top button once more in order to zoom in closer. “You can do this. _Goku_ did this. _Twice_!”

A tender warmth settled into the pit of his stomach at the mere mention of Goku, and even if he felt like a love sick goof for doing so, he allowed himself to heave a happy sigh. Their first date had been just two days ago, but it still made him feel warm and tingly inside whenever he thought back on it.

_“I like spending time with you,”_ Goku had told him as they held hands and lay beneath a blanket of stars. _“After eating and fighting it’s my favorite thing.”_

He smiled at the memory as he did his best to recall the way Goku’s hand had felt grasped in his own. She may have called Kuririn her friend that night, but he felt certain that there was still a chance for the two of them to become something more and perhaps if he could find Si Xing Qiu, she would let him hold her hand again. Maybe even give him another hug or press a kiss to his cheek.

His heart hammered at the thought of Goku’s lips, soft and moist, brushing against his flushed face. It made his legs feel weak and his head light just to think about such a thing.

“Goku would never,” he laughed to himself as he rubbed at the imaginary kiss while his face continued to flush. “She’s not like that.”

A hot gust of wind passed over him, and Kuririn felt himself jump at the sensation. He spun around in time to see a pair of bright eyes peering in his direction him from above the tall grass. He had been so wrapped up in his day dreams that he hadn’t noticed the mountainous boar sneaking up on him.

“Oh,” he mumbled as he spared a moment to glance down at his radar. Still a few feet away it seemed. “I don’t have time for you.”

Seeming to pick up on his irritated tone, the boar began to grunt and snort in displeasure. He watched as the beast began to thrash about, kicking up dirt and grass with its front hooves as it made ready to charge.

“Alright then,” Kuririn grumbled as he readied himself to leap into the air as soon as the animal made its move. It seemed as if he would have to waste a bit of time after all.

The wild pig took off like a shot, charging towards him with impressive speed considering his size, yet before Kuririn could even make ready to jump, twin arrows went whizzing through the air and straight into the beast’s neck. He watched in fascinated horror as the boar let out a strangled cry before crashing into the ground, its tusk scraping a sort of trench into the dirt beneath its massive bulk.

“Are you alright?” a familiar voice called out from across the field.

Kuririn felt his stomach tighten as he turned to see Upa sprinting towards him. “U-Upa?” he gaped.

The younger man came to a slow halt at the sight of him. “Is… is that you Kuririn-san?” Upa asked, his eyes widening in surprise at the sudden encounter. “I didn’t recognize you,” he laughed as he walked over to the boar in order to retrieve his arrows from its throat. “I just saw the boar charge at someone and thought…” His expression grew solemn as he bent down by the animal’s side. The boar was gasping as blood gushed from its wounds, too deep to be healed with time or medicine. “Poor creature,” Upa whispered as he took out a knife from the folds of his clothes. His eyes were filled with remorse as he pressed the blade against the animal’s fur coated throat. “I’m sorry to have taken your life so recklessly.”

Kuririn turned his head at the gruesome sight. He was familiar with hunting and killing, but he didn’t always have the stomach for such things. “I’m surprised to see you out here,” Kuririn said in the hopes of making conversation. 

“I should say the same,” Upa said as he stood and took a few steps away from his kill. “What brings you to our lands, Kuririn?”

Kuririn raised his eyes and saw Karin’s Tower on the horizon. The tower was just a sliver against the clear blue sky, but Kuririn felt like kicking himself for not seeing it sooner. _I guess I was just too focused on my own hunt,_ he thought wearily as he dug through the small pouch he had brought with him in order to produce the three star Dragon Ball. “Well, I was just on a little Dragon Ball hunt, that’s all?”

Upa’s eyes widen at the ball’s glimmering surface and the two men watched in wonder as the orb began to glow. “Well that is a coincidence,” Upa laughed as he reached into his own pocket and pulled out another Dragon Ball shining brilliant in response to the one Kuririn held. “I found this one inside of a fish just the other day.

Kuririn felt the color leave his face as he counted the stars twinkling inside of the ball. “Si… si xing qiu? You… y-you have Goku’s Dragon Ball?”

He watched as Upa’s smile grew warm and tender at the mention of Goku’s name, his brown hands cradling the little ball in his palm as if he were holding some delicate memento. “Yes, its funny isn’t it? That I should find this ball so soon after Goku-san had left my camp.” His stomach tightened as Upa heaved a love sick sigh, his tanned cheeks becoming tinged pink as if he were recalling a private moment that he held dear to his heart. “When I found it inside the stomach of that carp, I thought for certain it was sign from the heavens.”

“A sign?” Kuririn found himself saying as dread began to claw at his skin. His throat tightened as he watched Upa give a shy nod before tucking the ball back into his pouch. “Wh-what kinda sign?”

“Well, a blessing I suppose,” he went on. “You see, before Goku-san left, I… I asked her if she would be my bride.”

In that moment, Kuririn felt his heart fall to his feet and shatter into tiny pieces. His body felt cold, numb as if he were dying all over again. “Goku? Your bride?” he whispered, the words cutting his tongue like shards of glass.

“Hard to imagine, isn’t it?” Upa said in a shy whisper as he rubbed at the flush burning his cheeks. “I know it was forward of me, given that I am not yet a man, but… truth be told, from the moment I met Son Goku I began to fall in love with her. And when I saw her again at the Budokai… she was more beautiful than I had remembered.”

Tears began to burn in the back of his eyes and it took everything in Kuririn’s power to keep himself from weeping brokenly at Upa’s feet. “Goku… when you proposed to her…? Whuh… what did she say?”

“She said that she would consider me,” he sighed blissfully. “I was so happy to hear her say those words. I made quite the fool of myself kissing her hand the way I did, but my heart has longed for her for six years now.”

He felt himself nod distantly, his head suddenly feeling heavy as he scrambled to think of how to get away from Upa and the things he was saying. 

“Oh, Kuririn-san, please forgive me,” Upa said hurriedly as he fumbled to reach into his pouch once more. “You said you were looking for Dragon Balls. Did you need the four star ball? Has something happened?”

“No, I…” He frowned and shook his head. “I just… I had a wish. But I don’t think it’ll come true.”


End file.
